White House Communications Agency

The White House Communications Agency (WHCA), originally known as the White House Signal Corps (WHSC) and then the White House Signal Detachment (WHSD), was officially formed by the United States Department of War on 25 March 1942 under PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. The organization was created to provide secure normal, secret, and emergency communications requirements in support of the President. The organization provided mobile radio, Teletype, telegraph, telephone and cryptographic aides in the White House and at "Shangri-La" (now known as Camp David). The organizational mission was to provide a premier communication system that would enable the President to lead the nation effectively.

The White House Communications Agency is composed of Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps personnel. The Agency evolved over the past 60 years from a small team of 32 personnel working out of the basement of the White House to a thousand-person self-supporting joint service command. Headquarters for WHCA is at Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling and consists of six staff elements and seven organizational units. WHCA also has supporting detachments in Washington, D.C. and various locations throughout the United States. WHCA is organized into functional areas, each with its own mission in support of the total WHCA mission of Presidential support.[9]

An agreement between Marine CorpsBarracks, Washington, D.C., and the White House Communications Agency states that the barracks will supply WHCA with a platoon to provide security for the WHCA compound and for WHCA missions overseas. The Marines are handpicked infantrymen selected for this special duty as part of Presidential Support Duty.[11][12]